May 14, 2026 | Be Connected
Invoking Jesus’ Name without Knowing Him
Scripture: Acts 19:13-16(NIV)
13 Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, “In the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.” 14 Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. 15 One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?” 16 Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.
Devotional
Ephesus was a tough place to take the Gospel of Christ. Everywhere you looked there were shrines to Roman emperors and monuments to Greek gods and goddesses. By the time of today’s reading, Paul had been in the city three years preaching, teaching, baptizing, laying on hands, imparting the Holy Spirit, healing and more.
The problem behind today’s passage is something scholars call syncretism. It is an attempt to merge different religions by drawing on their otherwise conflicting elements. A little Jesus. A little Artemis. A little Christianity. A little magical arts.
These seven sons of Sceva should have known better. Their dad was a Jewish chief priest. They would have known the first two commandments: “You shall have no other gods before me” and “You shall not make for yourself an image… you shall not bow down to them or worship them” (Exodus 20:3-5).
The challenge is that Ephesus was filled with other gods and graven images and wayward worship. So, these brothers paid a heavy price for swirling together a smoothie made up of Christian truth and pagan falsehood.
Sadly, syncretism hasn’t left us. Still today we attempt to merge different religions by drawing on their otherwise conflicting elements. A little Jesus. A little karma. A little Christianity. A little yoga. A little Bible. A little anything else.
Be warned about the foolishness of swirling together a smoothie made up of Christian truth and pagan falsehood. You wouldn’t want to get caught running around naked and bleeding!
